Chiadma

The name Chiadma is of Arabic origin. It comes from the word shayḏ̣am (شيظم) or shayḏ̣amī (شيظميّ) with the plural shayāḏ̣ima (شياظمة) which literally means "tall, big, corpulent, great, burly, young" and can be applied to people and animals like horses and camels. Ultimately, the name derives from the root √sh-ḏ̣-m In the colloquial dialect, it lost the diphthong /ay/ and the phoneme /ḏ̣/ [ظ] became /ḍ/ [ض] resulting in the modern name.^[1][2] The name of the tribe became the toponym of the region. Historically, the region was known as Regraga before the arrival of Arab tribes in the 12th century in reference to a tribe that later became incorporated into the Chiadma tribe.^[2]

According to Moroccan historian Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Kānūnī al-ʿAbdī [ar], they are a mix of multiple Arab tribes like Mudar and al-Harith with Maqil among them. Some fractions of the tribe also have Berber roots like Regraga and Heskala.^[1][2]

The first references to the Chiadma in historical sources began in the Saadi era.^[2] Some of the authors that mention the Chiadma from this period include Leo Africanus, Luis del Mármol Carvajal and Damião de Góis.^[1][2] Historians from the 16th century agree on the Arab origin of the Chiadma^[1] and they made a clear distinction between the Haha and the Arabs that lived in Chiadma. French orientalist Édouard Michaux-Bellaire [fr] argued that they were Arabized Berbers due to their usage of words borrowed from Berber languages like sārūt < tāsārūt ‘key’; mūka <tāmūkt ‘owl’; mūš < āmshīsh ‘cat’. This argument, however, is not convincing since these are common borrowings found in all Moroccan Arabic dialects. Contemporary Moroccan authors also affirmed their Arab origin like Al-Kānūnī and Ar-Regrāgī. The members of the Chiadma claim an Arab origin distinguishing themselves from the Haha who speak Shilha and who the Chiadma call shlūḥ.^[1][2]

The Chiadma territory is divided into two regions. The western portion lies between the sacred mountain of Regraga, Djebel Hadid, and the Atlantic Ocean coastal plain of the Sahel. This area is known for its mariners, and its farmers raise garden crops, providing the local market with vegetables, fruits and fish. Olive oil, grain and livestock are produced in the eastern Kabla region.^{[citation needed]}